I've been slowly warming to the writing on this book. The fourth issue was the strongest of the opening story arc, as the strong focus on characterization was enough to overcome the inherent weakness of the premise. The gradual strengthening in the writing continues here. Of course, there's no need for stronger artwork. Every month, Steve McNiven and company prove themselves to be one of the strongest artistic teams not only at Marvel but in all of comics today. The realism with which McNiven approachese these, ahem, fantastic characters is stunning, and the colors bring a natural magic to the book that is unparallelled.
Reed and Susan Richards, with the rocky Ben Grimm in tow, decide to take their son Franklin and his friends camping in the Pine Barrens, a remote section of New Jersey untouched by the urban sprawl elsewhere in the state. Ben, of course, can't resist to bring the old tradition of horror stories to a camping trip, and he tells the boys the bloody tale of the jersey Devil, rumored to reside in the forest that surrounds them. Little does he know that they will encounter something monstrous. Meanwhile, Johnny Storm meets with the chief of the local fire station and makes his pitch to become the latest firefighter trainee in New York City.
McNiven's work just keeps getting better and better, if that's at all possible, and given the incredible level of detail he pours into every panel, I'm surprised and pleased to see he's able to keep up with what seems to be a more-than-monthly schedule. His work here reminds me a little of styles of such artists as Kevin Nowlan and Travis Charest, and that's impressive company to be keeping. Perhaps the most striking visual in this issue stems from Morry Hollowell's contribution to the art. The fall colors he casts over the setting, from which the story arc derives its name, are lovely, and they capture a real-world sense of natural beauty.
I'm surprised Aguirre-Sacasa so quickly set aside the premise upon which this series is based: the Fantastic Four's fall from financial grace. All of a sudden, they're taking Franklin and his friends on a camping trip. This plot direction comes from out of nowhere when there's so much to be addressed in the previous plotline. Mind you, I wasn't terribly wild about it before, and there's no denying that there's some strong characterization to be found here. Ben playing around with the kids is a blast, and Reed and Sue's awe at untouched nature is a nice change of pace from trips to the Negative Zone and Atlantis. It's encouraging to see the "Imaginauts" marvelling over something anyone can experience.
Johnny's scene at the fire house stands out as the most focused and strongest scene in the book. It not only keeps the plot moving forward for the character, but it serves as an excellent spotlight for his character. Seeing Johnny trying to bridge the gap between the fantastic world he's used to and the real world reinforces the main theme for this series without resorting to implausible plot developments.
